Recording King Phil Leadbetter Signature Squareneck Resonator Guitar - Sunburst (2024)

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The Squareneck Resonator from Phil Leadbetter

Since first touching a resonator at age 12, Grammy-nominated artist Phil Leadbetter has chalked up countless performances on the road, performed for a sitting United States president, and earned induction into the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame. Adding to his impressive résumé, Phil has now teamed with Recording King to offer the world his signature resonator, an incredible instrument teeming with personal touches. The Phil Leadbetter Squareneck Resonator boasts a number of premium Recording King features, including a hand-spun resonator cone as well as a body made from beautiful flame maple hardwood for true Appalachian tone inspired by Phil’s roots. Also onboard are several stylish touches that make this resonator a tour de force whether you’re looking at it or playing it; there are dual black grille soundholes, a pearl fingerboard inlay with Phil’s signature, and custom internal bracing designed by Phil himself. If you’re hunting for a professional resonator built by a pro who’s played them all, then the Recording King Phil Leadbetter Squareneck Resonator from Sweetwater is the pick for you!

Down-home flame maple tone

Flame maple forms the bulk of the Phil Leadbetter Squareneck Resonator. A maple top, back, sides, and neck deliver rich airy tone that lifted straight from mountain hill country. Maple is the de facto wood for a variety of old-school folk instruments, including the mandolin, and Phil’s choice to use maple taps into that timeless tradition. The flame variety of maple is a highly figured wood, and its deep eccentric wood grain gives this resonator a premium look, polished off with a slick gloss finish. Custom wood bracing sits inside, designed by Phil and carved from Sitka spruce; this bracing guarantees a balanced response with better volume and projection, as well as a voice that aligns with Phil’s signature sound. And of course, beyond wood, the Phil Leadbetter Squareneck Resonator features a stylish hand-spun spider resonator cone made from only the finest bell brass for the authentic, pure resonator tone that Recording King is so known for.

Built for comfort

Those who’ve been around the resonator block a time or two know the struggle: the resonator's old-fashioned looks get used as an excuse for poor playability. Recording King knows better, and thinks you deserve better, too. The Phil Leadbetter Squareneck Resonator is built for comfort and style with a shapely square-shouldered body that’s infinitely portable yet more focused and has cleaner tone than, say, a round-shouldered dreadnought. The neck joint terminates at the 12th fret, a feature that softens the string feel for buttery smooth action. Meanwhile, a comfortable gloss-finished flame maple neck and premium padauk fingerboard ensures smooth-flowing fretting up and down. This neck is “squareneck” with a flat profile, meaning its meant to be played lap-style with a slide. If you prefer a resonator that’s played upright, Recording King also offers this same instrument in a roundneck style.

Recording King: retro refreshed

The landmark Recording King brand traces its origins back to 1930s building contracts with the retail titan Montgomery Ward. During the early days of radio and recorded music, affordable but well-crafted Recording King guitars, banjos, and resonators swept across the nation far and wide. Now revived, Recording King hearkens back to those early days of production-line American instruments built for pros and budding musicians alike. Nearly a century later, these retro models take their cues from vintage designs for results that look and sound like their 1930s counterparts.

Recording King Phil Leadbetter Signature Squareneck Resonator Guitar Features:

• Signature squareneck resonator designed to the specifications of acclaimed artist Phil Leadbetter
• Comfortable square-shouldered body shape yields good volume with stronger definition than a round-shouldered body
• Hand-spun resonator cone with parallelogram soundwell, made from bell brass for shimmering professional tone
• 12th-fret neck joint means a more relaxed string feel
• Gloss-finished back, top, and sides built from flame maple display lots of wood grain and deliver bright, crisp tone with a vintage voice
• Internal Sitka spruce bracing and 2 black grille soundholes for excellent frequency response across lows, mids, and highs
• Gloss-finished flame maple neck with a square profile and 19 frets, intended for lap playing
• Padauk fingerboard with 19 frets and ivory binding
• Fingerboard also features a 12th-fret pearl inlay bearing Phil Leadbetter’s signature
• Premium hardware increases resonance (a bone nut, ebony saddle, and sand-cast spider bridge)
• Sturdy nickel tuners with black button covers and 18:1 tuning ratio for fast and precise tuning